On the game vs. the Oil Kings: it might get loud

Vengeance is ours: I was thinking this anyway about the game of the season against the Oil Kings, but now that the Winterhawks are rolling back into town on the heels of a loss, I feel it even more. Think about it this way: the bigger the underdog, the bigger and better the victory when that team wins.

It's about more than the game: A win over the Oil Kings tonight is about so much more than two points and even revenge. It's about wiping Game 7 from our hard drives and rebooting the system with the belief that anything is possible, especially if that thing is beating the team that when last we met them, gave our team a beat down.

Miracles still happen: As I'm writing this, the Hollywood version of Miracle on Ice is playing yet again on cable. How like 1980 Wednesday is. The word outside sadly isn't that different from the one we lived in 33 years ago. Both teams in our case are powerhouses, but like the U.S. team the Winterhawks are a bit of the underdog in this one. Of course, the Winterhawks are so good they don't need a miracle: they need focus, discipline and showing up in the third period. But you get the idea. A miracle tonight won't be a divine act of the hockey gods; the Witnerhawks will have to create it. And just how does one go about doing that, you might ask. Well, it goes like this:

They get a little help from their friends: The friends in this case being 8000 or so fans in the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. And we are very loud.

They think positive: "Having a positive attitude" is the number one quote I get from the team when we talk about being successful at the elite/WHL level. They're right. Winners aren't whiners; they believe in things the rest of the world can't or won't see. That's why the Winterhawks have come this far, and it's why they have been a championship team for the past three seasons.

They prepare to win: Like Bear Bryant said, it's not the will to win that matters, because everyone has that, it's the will to prepare to win that matters. Somewhere out there the Winterhawks are preparing to win. Meanwhile, spread across Portland and beyond are fans preparing to get loud. I mean playoff, Game 7, tied in the third with two minutes to go and Nic Petan's on the attacking-zone face off loud.

They know it's not just a game: Tonight is about faith, hope, love and everything else that's good about this game and life. Speaking of which: